Cedar Point's Shoot The Rapids still not open

I find it amusing what Dennis Speigel said: "I think this is part of a normal shakedown built into the timetable."

If that's the case, how about bumping the timetable up a month or two? If it's 'built in', why not build it in so the ride opens (approximately) when it was originally advertised?

Yeah, I thought the same thing. That didn't make any sense.

It's kind of turned into a impromptu race between this and the Timberliners on Voyage.

Just about every Intamin coaster at CP seems to have opened late, or closed down soon after opening. You'd think, you know, they'd want to use someone else after all the hassles.

Boy oh boy, how times have changed at "The Flagship." Just a decade ago this type of thing would have been absolutely unacceptable. Now, even with the company being billions in debt and attendance falling drastically at the flagship, this seems to be par for the course with every new attraction introduced. When is Dick going to get it through his thick skull that HE is the root of every problem and issue with Cedar Point, as well as Cedar Fair, and its time for his departure? Next week is unit holder meeting, I sure hope the place is PACKED and someone has the courage to say directly to Dick Kinzel "we want your resignation effective IMMEDIATELY!"

Someone get Mark Shapiro on the phone, I think his leadership is needed in Sandusky.

It isn't Dick that needs convincing of anything. It is the Board of Directors. That said, I'm not sure he can be entirely blamed for this situation...much as I would like to. I suppose he can be faulted for greenlighting another Intamin but I'm not ready to say he is the cause of these current problems.

But, I'm all for blaming him for the food pricing!

Folks here would know the answer to these questions much better than me. What is the track record in general around the country for rides of different types opening on time? It is more of the exception that rides open late or on time? How much of it depends on the type of ride/how sophisticated/new it is? How much of it depends on weather related issues? Does it vary by park and/or manufacturer?

I just find it interesting that it is newsworthy that the ride hasn't opened yet. That's almost like saying that Flying Turns still has not opened.

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

RideMan said:
I just find it interesting that it is newsworthy that the ride hasn't opened yet. That's almost like saying that Flying Turns still has not opened.

Another enthusiast anomaly. Some parks are given free passes when crap happens and others are lambasted at the slightest hiccup.

For the record, I don't give Knoebel's any free passes. It's actually one of the reasons I've yet to go...

Wasn't Voyage supposed to have Timberliners for opening this year and last I checked HW opened way before CP correct? Just playing Devil's Advocate here but "Stuff" happens, it's just that HW has "Charm" and CP is a "Concrete Wasteland." What's the diff?

There is a big differance between knoebels flying turns(a proto type) and a for the most part cookie cutter flume ride.

Considering the Flyer Turns design was used in what, the 1920's?

And in 2010 they STILL can not get it to work correctly?

Shoot the Rapids is a much more complex design, by nature. Flume, or not.
Plus, it is not CP fault the ride is not open yet... Point the finger at Intamin and their contractors.

<comments removed>

I'm not giving anybody a pass; I'm just observing that it is interesting that nothing happening is considered newsworthy. In other news, Generalisimo Francisco Franco is still dead. Shoot The Rapids is not open, Flying Turns is not open, the Timberliners are not running, and really none of it is "news" until something changes! Okay, it's news to us as the details change, but to a broad-based newspaper?

Okay, so it is Toledo. Even so...

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

mlnem4s said:
I am going to go out on a limb here and explain some things about why this is such a big deal to many people...

Wow.

Oh please. mlnem4s' long paragraphs and ostensible consequentially good analysis is only speculation. We have no idea why the boats were shipped with inappropriate sizes. Then mlnem4s talks about business practice, even when he/she/they have no idea what the other firms' offerings, respective prices, time-tables and possible installation problems would have been.

It's also possible that profits are not directly dependent upon opening rides on schedule, and that they respond more strongly to other factors, like having mechanics on staff familiar with Intamin design practice or whatever.

Regarding the decline of Cedar Fair's flagship park esp. with regard to mlnem4s' discussion of rides being down, it's purely naive to believe that parks maximize profits when they minimize ride down-time. Consider the consumer's decision to go to an amusement park––it seems reasonable to say that it is mostly dependent on having leisure time, park deals, and weather (which we recently confirmed on this forum has a huge impact on park attendance). Also note that park goers often 'consume' Cedar Point tickets with imperfect information (either because information is too costly or because it's unavailable): It's probably also fair to say that consumers don't know ahead of time which rides will be open and closed. Although there's probably some threshold of closed rides past which a park develops a profits-reducing bad reputation, it's likely that parks maximize profits by *purposely* operating with some rides down.

It's naive to jump to the conclusion that firms maximize profits (and stock prices) by always opening rides on time and maximizing ride operation.

Right...because there's nothing to be gained from having your guests satisfied by having all of your rides and attractions open. While mlnem4s may have gone to one extreme, you definitely went to the other. There is no reason at all for a park to purposefully close an attraction just because, and you would be foolish to believe it and that it would somehow maximize profits. Your customer satisfaction goes down when an attraction is down, period. That is one area where it is black and white. Your guests are either satisfied, or they aren't. Having attractions closed leads to one and only one result.

You know, if business were as simple as some of you guys make it sound, we'd all be billionaires. ;)